How the ‘Strange Planet’ Tiny Cuties Became Huge TV Stars

Considering how quickly they became ubiquitous, that cartoonist Nathan Pyle’s Strange Planet comics only began in 2019 is surprising. Not long after Pyle launched the breezy, quirky strip about the everyday lives of extraterrestrials, which he uploaded to his social media pages on a near-daily basis, the internet latched onto them.

There was something immediately endearing about Pyle’s big-headed, wide-eyed, blue aliens, who spoke in a humorous staccato and referred to our basic Earthly objects by appropriately odd monikers. These make up a large part of the fun of Strange Planet. To the nameless, identical-looking cast of Strange Planet, a hug is a “mutual limb enclosure;” a glass of water is a “hydration cylinder;” a tan is called “star damage.”

These strange-sounding little creatures have since garnered more than seven million followers on Instagram, and a bound compilation of the comics became a New York Times bestseller. There are card games and T-shirts and stickers galore.

Read more at The Daily Beast.